Saturday, August 16, 2014

'The Fallen' of Seascale, Cumbria

St Cuthbert's Parish Church and war memorial, Seascale

Commemorating 'The Fallen' of Seascale, Cumbria

A sandstone cross in the churchyard of St Cuthbert's Parish Church, Seascale commemorates the servicemen who lost their lives during the First World War and can be seen in the photograph above. Inside the church there are additional war memorials for the 'Fallen' connected to Seascale.

The first memorial inside the church is a tablet listing the names of 'Old Boys' of Seascale 'Prep' (Preparatory) School who died in WW1. The second memorial inside the church is a tablet listing the names of those who died in although the actual WW2 memorial is the altar rail.

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The coastal village of Seascale, Cumbria (previously Cumberland) borders the Irish Sea and is located approximately mid-way between the towns of Whitehaven and Millom. It is believed there has been continual settlement at this location from at least medieval times and the name Seascale comes from Norse settlers.

Seascale Parish Church (Church of England), where the village's war memorials can be found, is mainly of late Victorian origin (1880s). There is also a Methodist church and a Roman Catholic church in the village.

During the Second World War two Royal Ordnance Factories (R.O.F.) were developed in the area - one at Sellafield a short distance to the north of Seascale and one at Drigg a short distance to the south. In the immediate post-war years the Sellafield site was developed as a nuclear reactor and processing site (Windscale and Calder Hall) while the Drigg site was developed as a nuclear waste repository. Also in the post-war era Seascale village developed as one of the main dormitory communities for the influx of workers at the nuclear power plant and repository. --------------------

Permission for the erection of Seascale's WW1 War Memorial in the grounds of St Cuthbert's Parish Church was granted on 14 September 1920. It takes the form of a large stone cross and is made of red sandstone. It was dedicated on Sunday 22 May 1921, listing the names of 11 villagers. Below is a transcription of the commemoration:

"In Grateful Remembance of the sons of SEASCALE who died for their country in the Great War 1914 - 1918